Citizens know best when it comes to animal protection

CITIZEN science is alive and well. Species nominated for protection by members of the US public are as worthy of protection as those identified by the US Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS).

The US Endangered Species Act of 1973 gives citizens, as well as the government, a role in selecting species for protection. But critics say that citizens are politically motivated, using the act to block developments like new shopping malls rather than to protect vulnerable species.

Berry Brosi at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia, and colleagues have now compared the species selected by the public with those protected by FWS recommendations. They found that species chosen by citizens faced significantly higher levels of biological threat than those chosen by the FWS, suggesting that citizens play a valuable role in the process (Science, doi.org/h6h).

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